LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
IT’S no surprise Gippsland MHR Darren Chester changed his tune on Bronwyn Bishop, just like he changed his tune on same sex marriage.
Within a day Mr Chester went from fully defending Bronwyn, to turning on her.
On Friday (July 31) he denied she should step down as Speaker and told ABC Radio we should all move on because she had apologised.
On Monday (August 3) he told the same station she should go because she had done the wrong thing.
It reminds me of the countless times over the past six years that Mr Chester has been quoted in Hansard and the press stating he was against same sex marriage because that was his view, his party’s view and his electorate’s view.
Then after one Facebook status he flipped without warning to his party or his electorate.
Mr Chester may think riding the waves of popular opinion is the best way to fast-track his political career, but in the process he is abandoning the people who elected him.
What a sad state we are in when we aren’t even sure what our elected representative really believes or what he stands for anymore.
Mr Chester’s own surveys, taking in the views of 3000 people across Gippsland, showed twice that the overwhelming majority of Gippslanders were not in favour of same sex marriage.
You would be forgiven for thinking the man interviewed on ABC Radio last Monday morning was different from the man quoted on Friday morning’s news.
Or the Darren who “came out” on June 9 was a different person from the one who espoused his great ideals of political consistency and personal integrity regarding his support for traditional marriage during the past six years.
Would the real Darren Chester please stand up?
